Thursday, December 31, 2015

Walk With Me Through 2015...

January started a little heavy when we shared that we had been walking the difficult road of infertility. It had already been over 2 years, but we finally decided to make it more public. It made it a little easier to explain my 2014 book list, which contained several infertility books. I had my laparoscopy, where they discovered that I had stage IV endometriosis, just another health issue to face. I was also furiously trying to finish up my {30 Before 30} list! We plugged into Mercy Church and were praying for the Lord to reveal next steps to us.

I made it to February and the end of my {30 Before 30} list. While I didn't get to check all of them off the list, I was able to make a significant dent in it. I was able to check off indoor skydiving on my actual 30th birthday! I had an absolute blast, and then I got to celebrate with family and friends when Mike surprised me with a fun birthday lunch. For Valentine's Day, we headed to Fort Worth for a fun dinner and night away. We were actually there to visit a church for a job opportunity, but we hadn't shared that publicly yet.

In March, I was part of the book launch team for Christine Hoover's second book, and I also had my first guest post with her. I also shared a little more about our infertility story. While it was incredibly difficult to lay bear those intimate parts of our life, it was also incredibly therapeutic. The cold months were really starting to get to me {especially since we had so much ice and SNOW. In MARCH}, and I was MORE than ready for the warmer spring weather to arrive. We were also doing a bit of traveling and interviewing, as we continued to explore church positions out of state.

We were trying to make decisions about ministry in April. We hadn't shared publicly that we were interviewing out of state, but it felt like we were in a perpetual state of waiting. National Infertility Week is in April, so I decided to blog about the past couple of years of our journey...all the crazy that is involved. In the midst of a lot of life change and decisions, we still found time to catch a hockey game with family, head to a Rough Riders game with friends, go on a tour of a tulip farm, host a four-legged house guest, celebrate our 5 year date anniversary, and participate in the IB spelling bee. To say that April was a whirlwind is an understatement.

May brought a little more clarity on life's plan {at least for now}. We felt the Lord closing doors to out-of-state ministry opportunities, so we made the decision to move closer to Woodcreek and reconnect with church family there. Mike started his job with RightNow Media, and we began trying to figure out what this transition would look like in coming months. We headed to San Antonio for a weekend at my parents' new house! We also had our entire front yard dug up after a gas leak, so that was all kinds of good times.

We saw a lot of change in June as well. Mike got a promotion after being at the new job only a few weeks, and I gave my 6-week notice at the bank. I bought a Kindle, which dramatically changed my reading habits {for the better!}. Peabody hit 150,000 miles, my parents stayed with us for a week, and we attended one of Mike's youth students' {and our vet's daughter's} wedding.

In July, I said goodbye to my IB family. While I had prayed for the opportunity to step back from working full time for a long time, it was still bittersweet to leave. We celebrated our 4th anniversary with a homemade dinner and a documentary about Dirk Nowitzki. We got to go to PK's first movie with her {The Minion Movie}, and we also got to spend a lot of time babysitting her. Packing was in full swing as we prepared to leave McKinney.

I was adjusting to life without full-time work in August, but was asked to stay on part-time which turned out to be a good fit. We said goodbye to McKinney and hello {again for me} to Plano. There was more than enough packing to do before our move, but we also had a garage sale in McKinney and painted the new rental house. We had a fun homemade sushi night with Ben and Lindsay, we started the weekly family ice cream night tradition with Mike's family, and I attended the Woodcreek women's ministry kickoff.

Most of September was spent getting settled in the new house, but we still got to do a few fun things. We headed to Beaver's Bend State Park for a weekend getaway with Mike's family. We also headed to San Antonio for the guys to hunt and for me and my mom to enjoy some fun girly time. We also got to meet my parents' new puppies, so I got to soak up some sweet puppy snuggles. I started attending a BSF class again, and we got a lot of good PK time. We also attended a Love 146 fundraiser, where we found a new ministry with which to partner.

In October, I was busy training my {second} replacement and preparing for our first craft show. We were still grieving our losses and shared here on the blog this next difficult phase in our infertility journey. Despite our heartache, we were still able to find times of healing and good family time. We headed to Waco to see the new stadium and watch my bears play. Not gonna lie: September/October {and really even the rest of the year} was tough.

We headed to Oklahoma in early November for Mike to speak at a college retreat. It was a good chance to get away. Lindsay and I had our first craft show in Fort Worth, and we had so much fun! Mike got to take the week of Thanksgiving off, so we enjoyed time at Starbucks, reading, playing games, and taking lots of time to rest. We spent Thanksgiving at Mike's parents' house, and celebrated Mike's birthday by putting up Christmas lights and our tree.

In December, I blogged for Crohn's Awareness week for the 3rd year in a row. Lindsay and I had our 2nd craft show, which was kind of a bust, but it was good to move a little more inventory, and I got my first Etsy sale! The holidays were difficult to face, but we did our best to enjoy the season. We enjoyed attending a Christmas concert, baking cookies, volunteering at Foreman Elementary, and spending time with friends. We celebrated Christmas with the McCulloughs a few days early with dinner at Maggianos, and then headed to San Antonio to spend Christmas with my family. Mike was able to take time off, so we got to spend some good time together getting ready for the new year.

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2015 was another tough year. Last year was hard with our infertility diagnosis, and this year was even more difficult because we faced such heartbreaking loss. We feel as though we have been in the valley for SO long. But we are so thankful for how the Lord walks with us and comforts us. We grieve, but we do not grieve without hope. His mercies are still new every morning, and He is still faithful.